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Letter signed from M. Sowerby, London (England), to Robert Sterling Clark, New York (N.Y.), 1924 October 26

Letter signed from M. Sowerby, London (England), to Robert Sterling Clark, New York (N.Y.), 1924 October 26. Page 1 (recto)

Letter from Mrs. Mary Ann Sowerby (nee Mesny) to Robert Sterling Clark, asking for a loan of 500 pounds. Recently divorced from Arthur de Carle Sowerby, she claims her alimony is insufficient and she is afraid of losing it should something befall Sowerby. She has used her savings to purchase a tea room and wants the loan to pay off the balance and furnish rooms to rent. Clark has written “Begging File” on the envelope.

Preferred Citation

Letter signed from M. Sowerby, London (England), to Robert Sterling Clark, New York (N.Y.), 1924 October 26. Correspondence Series, Sterling and Francine Clark Papers, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts

Biographical-Historical Note

Arthur de Carle Sowerby was a naturalist, explorer and writer who accompanied Robert Sterling Clark on his 1908-09 expedition to the Shaanxi and Gansu provinces in northern China. Sowerby remained in China collecting specimens for various museums of natural history and editing the journal he'd founded, The China Journal of Science and Arts. He was interned by the Japanese during World War II and returned to the United States in 1949. RSC funded Sowerby for many years. The bulk of the correspondence dates from 1923 through 1930, with letters through 1953, the year before Sowerby's death. Most of the letters are from Sowerby, with some carbon copies of brief notes sent by RSC. The letters concern the often dire state of Sowerby’s finances as well as updates on his scientific pursuits and analyses of the tumultuous political and economic situation in China.

Letter from Mrs. Mary Ann Sowerby (nee Mesny) to Robert Sterling Clark, asking for a loan of 500 pounds. Recently divorced from Arthur de Carle Sowerby, she claims her alimony is insufficient and she is afraid of losing it should something befall Sowerby. She has used her savings to purchase a tea room and wants the loan to pay off the balance and furnish rooms to rent. Clark has written “Begging File” on the envelope.

Preferred Citation

Letter signed from M. Sowerby, London (England), to Robert Sterling Clark, New York (N.Y.), 1924 October 26. Correspondence Series, Sterling and Francine Clark Papers, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts

Biographical-Historical Note

Arthur de Carle Sowerby was a naturalist, explorer and writer who accompanied Robert Sterling Clark on his 1908-09 expedition to the Shaanxi and Gansu provinces in northern China. Sowerby remained in China collecting specimens for various museums of natural history and editing the journal he'd founded, The China Journal of Science and Arts. He was interned by the Japanese during World War II and returned to the United States in 1949. RSC funded Sowerby for many years. The bulk of the correspondence dates from 1923 through 1930, with letters through 1953, the year before Sowerby's death. Most of the letters are from Sowerby, with some carbon copies of brief notes sent by RSC. The letters concern the often dire state of Sowerby’s finances as well as updates on his scientific pursuits and analyses of the tumultuous political and economic situation in China.